They were up by as many as 17 points, but these Knicks still found a way to end their 8 game winning streak and lose a very winnable game against a very subpar team. And the playoff season quickly approaches.
With the eighth-place Hawks coughing up a double-digit lead and losing to Toronto earlier on Sunday, the Knicks squandered a chance to move back within two games of a playoff position in the Eastern Conference.
They greatly damaged their playoff hopes by flushing a 17-point lead and falling to undermanned Cleveland, 106-100, at the Garden, halting their season-best win streak at eight games and putting their season back on red alert.
There have been too many of these squandered opportunities this season. With games like this, these guys don’t deserve playing in the playoffs.
It’s back to Indiana on Saturday, as the Pacers failed to end the Knicks season at Madison Square Garden. Or maybe it was the Knicks failing to go down in front of the home crowd. Either way, the Knicks began the game with two baskets by Carmelo Anthony and New York kept the lead for the rest of the game.
Final score was Knicks 85, Pacers 75.
Knicks were still out rebounded by 3 in this game (43-40), but they were more desperate for the win and played with a sense of urgency they missed in game 4. The spark for the Knicks tonight came from Copeland, who played 19 minutes but was automatic from the three-point line.
Copeland 13 points, 9 of those points coming from beyond the three-point arch. He pulled down 4 rebounds and had 2 steals.
Anthony led all scoring with 28 points.
Indiana leads the series 3 games to 2. Game six is scheduled for Saturday in Indiana.
With 4:15 remaining in the third quarter, Indiana Pacers took their first lead in game 2 of their second round playoffs against the New York Knicks. Up until that point, the Knicks controlled the game, at one point leading by as much as 13 points. But with pain and grimacing looks on his face, Carmelo Anthony managed to score a few baskets, even a dunk, igniting the rest of his team to follow-suit.With baskets from Smith, Kenyon Martin and Chandler, Knicks ended the quarter on a 10-2 run, to start the fourth quarter leading 72-66.
Pablo Prigioni started the fourth for Carmelo, bringing some much needed energy and defense. He also brought scoring, hitting a three pointer the first time he touched the ball and then a running field goal on the Knicks next possession. The Garden erupted, bringing a decibel level not heard much in the entire game. Prigioni was all over the place, getting rebounds in the paint, bringing up the ball and finding Carmelo on the three point line for a well needed three pointer. The Pacers resorted to being spectators as Melo and the gang went on a 20-0 run, extending the lead to 90 – 66.
With 4:55 remaining in the game, the Knicks brought on the Bench players. Being up 24 points with under 5 minutes remaining is a pretty good place to be, and Melo the rest of the team heard the cheers from the fans for a job well done.
The final score was Knicks 105, Pacers 79.
Pablo Prigioni was definitely the reason the Knicks won this game. He played a total of 21 minutes, but scored the biggest 10 points of the game. He also had 4 rebounds with 1 assist.
Knicks were led by Carmelo with 32 points, followed by Shumpert with 15. Felton had 14, followed by Prigioni and Martin both with 10.
For Indiana, P. George led the way with 20 points, followed by D. West who contributed 13. Hill was the only other Pacer player in double figure with 12 points. Indiana scored only 13 points in the fourth quarter.
“These Refs Suck! These Refs Suck!” That was the main chant heard at the Garden on Sunday as the New York Knicks played against the Indiana Pacers. The chant was due to the seemingly unnecessary calls made against the Knicks, calls that put Carmelo Anthony, J. Smith, K. Martin and T. Chandler in foul trouble early in the game.
After three quarters of play, the Pacers led 81-65. Indiana had six players already in double figures compared to just three players for the Knicks. The third quarter also ended with Knicks leading scorer, Carmelo Anthony sitting on the bench, nursing his four fouls.
That is how the Knicks started round two of the NBA Playoffs against the Pacers. They played with no urgency, almost as if their first round win against Boston was their ultimate goal. Yes, the Boston win was just two days ago, but for the first three quarters, it was apparent that the Knicks were still celebrating advancing to round two.
Carmelo started the fourth quarter playing with his four fouls and scored six quick points for the Knicks. But he quickly picked up his fifth foul with 10 minutes remaining in the game. And after a 1 for 10 performance to that point, J. Smith hit a three pointer to get the crowd back into the game.
When ,,,, foul out of the game, the Garden crowd resorted to a chant they’d been saying practically the whole game… “these refs suck!”
The quarter went by quickly. With 4:41 left in the game, Indiana led by 14. Knicks had missed their last eight shots before Smith scored a running field goal. It was the Smith and Carmelo show and the lead was down to 8 with 3 minutes remaining, but that show was short lived as the Pacers held their own and won the game with a score 102-95.
Indiana went to the free throw line 24 times making 19, and out rebounded the Knicks 42 to 30. They out played the Knicks on the offensive board also, grabbing 10 compared to the Knicks 6.
D. West led the Pacers with 20 points, followed by P. George with 19. Four other Pacer players had double digit scoring.
For the Knicks, Carmelo had 27 points, followed by Felton with 18. Three other players had double digit scoring.
It was not a pretty game for Knick fans, and it definitely was not a pretty game for Boston fans. The Knicks played game 6 in Boston after blowing game 5 in New York, and started the game as if on a mission. The scored quickly, going up 21 points to Boston’s 5 before Boston went on a small run and ended the quarter scoring 10 points total. Knicks had 24 after one.
In the second quarter, Boston was a little better. They watch the Knicks increase their lead to 18 points, but somehow managed to fight back with much of the help coming from Green, Terry and Garnett. Jason Terry, one of the Boston catalyst in game 5 scored a huge three pointer, cutting the 18 point lead by the Knicks. At the end of the second, Boston was within 13 with the score 39 Knicks, 27 Boston.
The third quarter the Knicks returned to the way they played in the early minutes of the first quarter. Carmelo Anthony up to this point had a quiet game, so it was up to his teammates to carry the load. And carry the load they did. A Huge game by Pablo Prigioni and threes by J. Smith, Shumpert and Felton contributed to the Knicks ending the quarter with their largest lead of the game, up by 20 points after the third.
After three quarters, the Knicks led 67, Boston 47.
By the start of the fourth quarter, the feeling in the auditorium was that the Knicks was getting ready to advance to the second round of the playoffs. Their first basket extended the lead to 22 points which caused Boston to pull Paul Pierce from the game. When the lead increased by 24 points with a basket by Smith, Pierce came back into the game and missed his first shot from behind the three point arch.
Another basket by the Knicks and it was a 26 point lead. Then Boston realized that their season was about to come to an end and started playing with reckless abandonment. This kid named Green scored a few points cutting the lead to 19. A few steals and baskets later, Boston was within 11 points and 19,000 fans were screaming “Defense! Defense!”
The scoring kept coming down and once again, the Refs made their presence known. Whistles were blown and the Boston fans applauded in agreement each time a Knick was called for the foul. Boston goes to the line and kept chipping away at the score. Before you knew it, Boston was within 7 with a 20-0 run.
The score with 5:44 remaining in the game was Knicks 75, Boston 69.
Whistles kept blowing and Green went to the line with 4 minutes remaining to score more points for Boston. 75 Knicks, 73 Boston.
Carmelo got fouled on the next position and made two from the line. Knicks 79, Boston 73. Boston then scored off a steal, but on the next position Carmelo made a jumper. Knicks 81, Boston 75 with 2:54 remaining to play. What could be the biggest play of the night came when Carmelo hit an open three pointer with 1:31 remaining, extending the Knicks lead back to 9 points.
Then J. Smith went to the basket for a layup on the next Knick possession and got fouled while making the basket. The lead extended back to double figures and that was all she wrote as Green walked off the court committing his 6th foul. The score with 1:21 remaining in the game was Knicks 87, Boston 78.
The final score in the end was Knicks 88, Celtics 80. And for the first time in 13 years, the New York Knicks advanced to the second round of the playoffs.
Knicks ended up shooting 42% on 33/79 shooting. They had 9 three pointers and 42 rebounds. Boston had 38%, shooting on 24 of 63 shots. They had 6 three pointers and 35 rebounds.
As he exited the game, the 18 year Basketball veteran, Boston’s Kevin Garnett hugged his coaching staff. The next game for New York would be in New York against Indiana.
I had some other things to do. So I was only able to see the last 5 minutes of today’s regulation game. But based on those last 5 minutes, I can definitely tell that the entire game would go down as a must see classic.
Boston refused to be swept.
With 5 minutes left in regulation, the Knicks were down by 2 points with Boston leading. That regulation quickly evaporated with both teams tied at 84 to start the overtime. With 5 minutes added to the game clock, Paul Pierce of Boston began the scoring, followed by Felton of the Knicks to tie it up again at 86. A basket by Boston’s Kevin Garnett brought the score to 88 Boston 86 New York, only to be tied again when Carmelo Anthony made two free throws.
And then Jason Terry came into the game for Boston and right off the bench, hit a three pointer to bring the score to 91 Boston, 88 New York. A quick basket by New York tied up the score again, but Jason Terry wasn’t having it. He scored another jumper and in the next Boston possession, Terry got fouled, went to the basket and made both free throws.
Score at that point was 95 Boston, 90 New York.
With seconds remaining on the overtime clock, Garnet rebounded under the Knicks basket and passed out to Terry again, who then made an easy lay-up to officially seal the win for Boston.
Overtime clock runs out with Boston winning the game 97-90.
After the game, Terry said that God told him to “keep fighting. You guys ain’t dead yet.” He also warned the Knicks that the series is nowhere near ending, saying “these are the moments I live for. And it’s a long series.”
For Boston, Paul Pierce led the way with 27 points in 43 minutes of play, followed by J. Green with 26. Kevin Garnett and Jason Terry both had 9 points.
Carmelo Anthony led the Knicks with 32 points in 38 minutes. Felton was next with 23 followed by Shumpert with 12. Knicks now lead the series 3 games to 1. The series now heads back to New York for game 5 on Wednesday, May 1st.
The energy for game 2 at the Garden tonight was high. Carmelo Anthony scored the first points for the Knicks and the immediate impression was that tonight, the Knicks would ride the high intensity of the crowd all the way to the last second of the fourth quarter. But these are The Knicks, and nothing they do come easily.
J.R Smith who received the trophy for Sixth Man of the Year before the game, came out with some extra pep in his step. He quickly proved why he won that award scoring every time he touched the ball. But that would be what slowed the momentum and eventually took the rest of the team out of the game, as they all stood around watching in amazement to see Smith’s next move. Smith didn’t disappoint, ending the first quarter with an unbelievable shot from 6th Ave to beat the game clock.
The Knicks ended the first quarter with 26 points to Boston’s 20.
The second quarter was a different story where Boston took control of the game with 28 points in the quarter to the Knicks 16. At the end the half, Boston proudly displayed an 8 point lead. At the end of the half, JR Smith was the game leading scorer with 13 points in 20 minutes.
And then the third quarter started and Boston apparently stayed in the locker room.
Knicks, led by Carmelo Anthony’s 34 game high points ran the court as if they were playing a pick up game. J. Smith ended the night with 19 points followed by Felton with 16. But it was Kenyon Martin who picked up the emotions the Knicks lost in the second quarter, and he took that energy and emotion all the way to the end. Martin, who was picked up by the Knicks on a 10 day contract played 23 minutes. He only had 3 points, but it was his intensity on defence that got the Garden faithful going. Martin ended the game with 11 rebounds, 2 assists and 4 block shots.
Knicks ended winning the game with a final score of 87 – 71.
For Boston, the third and fourth quarters were dismal. They scored a total of 11 points in the third and 12 points in the fourth. Paul Pierce ended with 18 points, followed by Kevin Garnett with 12 points and 5 fouls. Green and Crawford both had 10 points and it was single digits from there on. The series now goes to Boston for a Friday night game, with the Knicks leading the series two games to none.
This is the beginning of the 2013 NBA Playoffs and for all the Knicks fans out there, today’s Knick win (85 – 78) against the Boston Celtics is a little bitter, but a lot sweet.
Bitter because as New Yorkers, we stand by Boston with all they’ve gone through over the last week. A week that brought them two bombings, killing three innocent people and wounding many more on Monday, then climaxing on Friday with the suspense filled, all day coverage where one suspect was killed and the other captured.
And in the beginning of game one at The Garden, the Knicks showed ample respect to Boston, but then it was time to play.
In a game that was close throughout, Carmelo Anthony stayed true to form. He played 41 minutes, scored 36 points and pulled down 6 rebounds. His play today helped New York overcome a fourth quarter deficit and helped the Knicks hold Boston to a total of 8 points in that quarter. Boston went a full 5 minutes without scoring to start the quarter.
“It’s going to be a battle,” Anthony said. “Although we won today, we really didn’t do anything. We’re just protecting our home court. Game 2 will be even tougher, even harder.”
J. Smith continued his great play, picking up 15 points, 5 rebounds in 31 minutes of play. Kenyon Martin proved valuable with his 10 points, 9 rebounds in 28 minutes. With his history of defence, this 2013 playoff is sure to be something special.
Boston was led by J. Green, who played 46 minutes and scored 26 points. Paul Pierce contributed 21 followed by Bradley with 15. Kevin Garnett’s play was below average. He played 37 minutes, but had only 8 points in the whole game.
The two teams will play game two of the series on April 23, at 8PM Eastern.
Tracy McGrady during his tenure with the Houston Rockets
Tracy McGrady, at one time he was probably the best player in the NBA and once the poster player on every kids wall. That’s saying something considering the league was full of superstars ranging from Allen Iverson, Vince Carter and Kobe Bryant during McGrady’s reign. T-Mac, as is his best known nickname, played 14 years in the NBA playing with the: Toronto Raptors, Orlando Magic, Houston Rockets, New York Knicks, Detroit Pistons, Atlanta Hawks, the Chinese League Qingdao Eagles and now with the San Antonio Spurs. During his career McGrady has made the All Star Team 7 times, was a two-time NBA Scoring Leader, the Most Improved Player in 2001, and has made the All NBA First Team twice. The one thing missing from T-Mac’s career accomplishments is a NBA Championship.
“T-Mac to the rack!!”
Tracy McGrady was an awe to watch him play, as he was just so explosive in his drives to the basket. It became normal to hear “T-Mac to the rack!” followed by the loud cheer and applause from the crowd watching a true superstar perform on a level above anyone else. His best known performance came from his time in Houston as he scored thirteen points in a mere thirty-three seconds. This man could score on a level well beyond any player during his prime, the game of basketball came too easy to T-Mac during his greatest years. It’s a shame then to have seen Tracy McGrady slowly decline in his later years due to injuries and just the miles of playing catching up to him. At the end of the 2012 season with his contract with the Atlanta Hawks done, it looked like Tracy McGrady had no where else to go in the NBA; McGrady signed overseas to the Qingdao Eagles in the CBA (Chinese Basketball Association).
McGrady played in China for their leagues 2012-2013 season where his numbers were respectable to say the least
Two days ago on April 16th, T-Mac was signed to join the playoff bound San Antonio Spurs to help bolster their team. While Tracy McGrady is past his prime and his body is hampered by nagging injuries, he still has shown to still be able to play on a high level accompanied by flashbacks of his earlier dominance. While I doubt T-Mac will make that much of a difference to the Spurs overall playoff success or failure, I am happy enough to see T-Mac back in the NBA. Maybe..just maybe I will hear the words “T-Mac to the rack!” echo through my television one last time.
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